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Let’s face it, New York is an expensive city. You are very unlikely to find a livable hotel room for less than $200. So “affordable” is a relative term. But at the more accessible tier of the city’s hotel hierarchy, creativity abounds. Let’s call these places smart luxury: You pay less, so you might have a smaller space or limited service, but you can still have good design, happening bars and restaurants, and plenty of conveniences.

The Public's dramatic escalators

Public Hotels

Public Hotel

Bringing necessary luxuries to select-service hotels was Ian Schrager’s mission when he came up with his newest brand, Public. The lively rooftop bar has some of the best views downtown, the public spaces and 367 rooms were designed by Herzog & de Meuron using materials like Brazilian ziricote wood and Hermès leather cushions, and Jean-Georges Vongerichten created the restaurant concept. The trade-offs? There’s no turndown, room service, bellman, or front desk, and guests help themselves to extra towels and ice from hallway pantries rather than calling a butler. “Public is the People’s Hotel," Schrager says. "It’s about inclusivity, not exclusivity.”

Arlo aimed to be the first micro-hotel with four-star design. The rooms at both Manhattan locations are snug—averaging 150 square feet—but expansive windows, with stunning city views on the higher floors, make them feel larger than their footprint. They’re also stylish and comfortable, with no wasted spaces or superfluous furnishings. They have high-quality materials and fixtures, carefully designed storage systems, stock-your-own minibars (from a fairly priced shop downstairs), and amenities from the trendy local brand Blind Barber. Designed by AvroKo, the coworking spaces, social lobbies, rooftop bars, and other spaces pop with color and energy.

Two more micro-room, macro-amenity hotels, these were designed by Yabu Pushelberg and the Rockwell Group with architecture by Stonehill Taylor. That means they’re sophisticated yet playful, handcrafted yet modern. The Chelsea hotel is in the flower district, so it has a lushly overgrown flower shop at the entrance, plus a lively trattoria, pastry shop and café, plus a bar, coworking lounge and profusely planted conservatory.

The history of this trendy West Village hotel is amazing. The building was completed in 1908 as the American Seaman’s Friend Society Sailor’s Home and Institute. In 1912, survivors of the Titanic stayed here. In the ’40s, the YMCA took over. By the 1990s, it was part of downtown bohemian culture, hosting shows like Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Now it’s a hotel that caters to guests with “more dash than cash.” The bar is lively with locals, and the rooms still have some seafaring details. The most affordable have twin (or bunk) beds and shared bathrooms, but there are larger, more private options.

Grit and grandeur blend together at this stylish hotel a block from the heart of Times Square. The 1,331 rooms have bright walls and ergonomic workspaces Within the hotel there is an iMac internet lodge with 24-foot windows overlooking 8th Avenue, a 24/7 one-stop shop, outposts of cycling gym Cyc Fitness and blow-dry bar Glam & Go, and an ambitious food hall.

I've been a travel writer and editor for 18 years – including several as a senior editor at ForbesLife – and I've written about more than 600 luxury destinations and

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I've been a travel writer and editor for 18 years – including several as a senior editor at ForbesLife – and I've written about more than 600 luxury destinations and hotels in 95 countries (and counting). I know the difference between what’s merely expensive and what deserves its high price tag. I’m discerning but not jaded, and I appreciate the hard work that goes into crafting experiences as well as crafting luxury goods. (I’ve written about those, too.) I’ve shared that wisdom with readers of Forbes, Departures, Conde Nast Traveller, Robb Report, Afar, National Geographic Traveler, Islands, Hemispheres, Brides, Modern Bride, Luxury SpaFinder, Well Good NYC, and other print and online publications. In the name of lifestyle journalism, I’ve gotten a tattoo in Bora Bora, been bitten by a massage therapist, and flown small aircraft above three continents.